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Opening Round tournaments, third day

LSU-Shreveport, Tennessee Wesleyan, Embry-Riddle, Point Park, and Rogers State have qualified for the Baseball National Championship tournament. Results from the third day of the NAIA Baseball Opening round:

At Kingsport, TN:

Tennessee Wesleyan 14, Saint Francis (IL) 4:
The Bulldogs got all the runs they needed in the third inning, on RBI singles by 1B Jake Stone and 3B Taylor Oldham, and a three-RBI double by DH Drew Levi. Levi went 3-for-5 with four RBI. Jeremy Fitzgerald got the win. Saint Francis used eight pitchers.

At Hardeeville, SC:

South Carolina-Beaufort 5, Saint Thomas (FL) 4:
The Sand Sharks trailed 3-0 after five innings, but got four runs in the top of the sixth on an error, an RBI double by C Dylan Nasiatka, and a two-run home run by LF Ty Main. They got the winning run in the top of the ninth on a pinch-hit RBI single by Blake Cilwick. Colton Rudd, who pitched five relief innings, and allowed only one hit, got the win.

Cilwick also got a pinch-hit single in the Sand Sharks' 8-7 win over Union U. (TN) earlier in the day. The Sand Sharks scored four runs in the top of the ninth in that game to stay in the tournament. Cilwick also batted in the winning run (again, as a pinch-hitter) in Friday's win over Faulkner.

The Sand Sharks and Bobcats will play the "if necessary" game at 1 PM EDT on Monday.

At Daytona Beach, FL:

Embry-Riddle 10, Auburn-Montgomery 4:
The Eagles scored in every inning except the sixth and ninth to earn their eleventh straight appearance in Lewiston. Kevin Maloney scattered 14 hits over eight innings, and RF Ian MacGeorge hit a solo home run and three RBI.

At Hutchinson, KS:

Rogers State 7, Tabor 3:
This one was close until the Hillcats scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by CF Eric Baker, an RBI on a ground out by 2B Hector Rivera, and and RBI single by LF Colton Campbell. Kyle Duncan went the distance for the Hillcats.

At Azusa, CA:

Azusa Pacific 5, College of Idaho 2:
DH J.C. Aguayo hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, and starter Michael Finnigan went seven innings, allowed one run on six hits. The Cougars and Coyotes will play the "if necessary" game at 10 AM PDT on Monday.

At Marion, IN:

Point Park 7, Doane 5:
Doane took out defending champion Concordia-Irvine 6-5 earlier in the day. They out-hit Point Park 11-9, and Point Park committed three errors, but the Pioneers got the winning run walked in in the bottom of the eighth. Mike Tullio got the win in relief.

At Cleveland, TN:

Lee 4, Missouri Baptist 3:
The Flames got a 13-0 win over Avila earlier in the day (Vince Spilker and Ryan Zimmer combined for a one-hit shutout) to stay in the tournament, then scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win this one. RF Trevor Burgess and SS Edmanuel Rivera hit RBI singles, then C Jorge Saez hit a sacrifice fly to win it. Matt Passauer got the win in relief.

The Flames and Missouri Baptist will play the "if necessary" game at 1 PM EDT on Monday.

At Oklahoma City, OK:

Sterling (KS) 2, Oklahoma City 1:
Add the Stars to the list of top seeds to lose games this year. The Stars led 1-0 going into the ninth inning, but the Warriors tied it when 2B Stephen Rodgers scored on a misplayed ground ball, and LF Shey Miller scored on a wild pitch. Levi LaBass went the distance for the Warriors, allowed no earned runs on six hits.

Lubbock Christian 11, Mount Marty 1:
The Chaparrals got two wins on the day to stay in the tournament. They got all the runs they needed in the first inning. The best news for the Chaparrals is that they got seven innings from starter Lester Lugo.

The Stars and Chaparrals play each other on Sunday, and the winner plays Sterling for the championship.

Bob Broughton started going to British Columbia home games in 2001, and was favorably impressed with the caliber of play. This led to annual trips to the NAIA Baseball National Championship in Lewiston, ID, a nine-hour drive from Vancouver. He retired in Guanajuato, Mexico in 2012.